Sillilocks

Hello my fellow bloggers! I have another story I wrote last year I'd like to share with you. It's quite long, but I hope that you will read it and tell me what you think.

Sillilocks:

Have you ever heard the story of Sillilocks, and the monkey, Mr Chuckles? Whether you have or not, I’m going to tell you now.
Sillilocks was a pretty little girl, with chocolate coloured locks, rosy cheeks and bright green eyes. But she was also a very, very  silly girl. Her mother was always trying to calm her down, and sober her, but that didn’t work, because Sillilocks was just too silly. 

One day Sillilocks was SO silly and she used what little savings she had to buy a monkey at the pet store. Now, everyone (or most people) know that you’re not supposed to buy monkeys, because monkeys are naughty. But Little Sillilocks didn’t care, and she bought a monkey. A monkey who owned nothing but three magic beans, which he hadn’t told anyone, even Sillilocks about. And she named him Mr Chuckles. Together they made a package of absolute mischief. That’s what happens when you put naughty and silly together. They were so mischievous that once they broke a toy that didn’t belong to them, and also stole two lollipops. Sillilocks and Mr Chuckles did plenty of bad things...even if they didn’t mean to hurt anyone.

One day, Mr Chuckles said to Sillilocks when her mother was out: “Why don’t we bake a cake? You’ve watched your mother. You could teach me how.” Sillilocks was reluctant but Chuckles begged until she agreed. Sillilocks actually didn’t know how to make a cake at all. It was silly to even try. But they did try anyway. And Sillilock’s mother came home to a kitchen with cracked eggs on the floor, flour spilled everywhere and all of the sugar finished because Sillilocks and Mr Chuckles ate spoons of it till it was all gone.
This sort of thing never stopped. Almost every day, Chuckles and Sillilocks did some bad prank or messed up the little cottage or stole from the candy store.

Her mother was getting more and more frustrated, until one day she said, “Darling, I know that you love Mr Chuckles, but he has to go! You are bad enough all by yourself, though I do love you SO much. But with your monkey it’s impossible.”

Little Sillilocks was sad, she knew that Mr Chuckles was extremely naughty, but she didn’t want to let him go. 

Her mother said gently, “My dear, I want you to give him away, I’m afraid I can’t deal with this.”

Poor Sillilocks was so upset. “No! I won’t! I won’t give him away!” she yelled, and with that, she ran out into the woods by herself, to cry.

Meanwhile, by the window of their cottage was the Mayor of the little village, and he was listening to every word. Now, the Mayor did not at all enjoy the monkey (even when he wasn’t living with Sillilocks) and he wished that Mr Chuckles was far, far away from everyone in the village.

“Oh, how I dislike that monkey!” he grumbled to himself. “I must do something to get rid of Mr Chuckles forever.”

So he planned and he schemed all night and the next day, his clever plot was ready to put into operation.

That morning, Sillilocks was out taking a walk with Mr Chuckles. She was quite over the conversation she had had with her mother. In fact, she had forgotten about it. That was how she was. Sillilocks was just about to say that she thought it was the loveliest day ever when she bumped into an old man, hobbling along with a stick. (Little did she know that the old man was actually the Mayor in disguise!)

“Good morning, little girl,” said the old man, politely. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

Sillilocks, who was always bright and optimistic, replied: “Yes, the weather today is wonderful! What’s your name? I haven’t seen here you before.”

“My name is Mr Bough. And what is yours?” said Mr Bough.

“I’m Sillilocks. Pleased to meet you!” exclaimed Sillilocks as she took Mr Bough’s big, rough hand in her small, soft hand and shook it energetically.

“What a fine monkey you have there,” said Mr Bough as he gestured towards Chuckles, who was sitting shyly on Sillilock’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Sillilocks nodded. “A monkey is a lot of fun!”

“Quite so,” added Mr Chuckles and Sillilocks laughed.

“I’d love one myself.” Mr Bough sighed, as if imagining a monkey of his own.

“Are you gonna get one yourself?” Sillilocks asked.

 “Actually, I was hoping to strike a deal with you. If you will give me the monkey, I will give you a magic wand in return – but not only that, I promise to keep him safe, happy and let him visit everyday two o’clock sharp. And, I do have a big house,” Mr Bough explained quickly in his most convincing voice.

“What?” Mr Chuckles exclaimed.

Sillilocks thought about this. The first thought that came to her mind was: What would I do without Mr Chuckles? He’s my very best friend! But then, suddenly she remembered what her mother had said yesterday. Mother said I must give him away, she thought, and anyway, he’ll get to visit every day, plus – I get a MAGIC WAND in return!

She hesitated for a while, before finally making her decision. “It’s a deal, as long as you stick to your promises,” Sillilocks said, as sternly as possible.

“Are you giving me away?” Chuckles asked, upset.

“It’ll be OK – you can visit me every day, and we can go for picnics and play together like usual,” she reassured him.

“Alright...after all, a big house would be nice for a change,” Mr Chuckles said.

“Good! Good! Then I’ll take him,” said Mr Bough as he took Chuckles from her shoulder to his. “And you take this.” he took a magic wand out of his sleeve and passed it to her. And the old man ran off along the path with the monkey (Suddenly filled with new energy) before Sillilocks could say anything else.

But, the Mayor who was disguised as Mr Bough did not keep Mr Chuckles safe.  Instead he locked him away in a high tower!

While Chuckles was locked up, Sillilocks had arrived at the little cottage. She told her mother what she had done and that she was sure it would work out. Her mother was very pleased with the decision she had made and Sillilocks was, too, until she figured out the wand was a fake! It didn’t grant any of her wishes! She felt very upset, stupid and angry that she had been tricked.  Why had she believed the wand was real? Mr Bough will have to bring Mr Chuckles to visit, so I’ll talk to him then, she thought to herself. So she waited on the front steps of the cottage at two o’clock.
She sat there and waited a long half an hour – but Mr Chuckles did not arrive! After waiting another five minutes, she realized that of course Mr Bough wasn’t going to come if he had cheated her and she decided to go straight to the Mayor’s house to ask if he knew where Mr Bough lived. The Mayor will be able to tell me, she thought, He knows everyone in this village! So, immediately she was off the steps and on her way down the path, to the Mayor’s house.

When Sillilocks got there, she gave a loud knock, rat-a-tat, against the wooden door. The Mayor opened  it and leaned against the door frame, quite relaxed and happy.

“Hello, little Sillilocks,” he greeted her with a warm smile. “What brings you here?”

“Hello Mr Mayor. I’ve come to ask if you know anyone called Mr Bough,” Sillilocks said.

“Ah, Mr Bough. He’s an old friend, actually,” the Mayor replied with an evil grin.

“He is? Well, he took my monkey in exchange for this,” she said, waving the wand above her head, “But it’s a fake wand! And he promised to let Mr Chuckles visit, so I thought I’d talk to him then, but he didn’t ever come! And I’m very worried about Chuckles.” Sillilocks burst out.

“You’ll never get that monkey back!” snapped the Mayor, in a sudden change of mood. “He was such a bother, anyhow. He’s locked away now, in a tower where you will never ever be able to see him again!”

Sillilocks was sad and angry at the same time. “Why should I believe you?” she cried. “I don’t anyhow.” she remarked, although she did believe him.

The Mayor scowled. “You didn’t know that man anyway. And this,” he said, grabbing the wand out of her hand, “Is just a stick. You didn’t really believe it could grant your wishes, did you?!”

Suddenly Sillilocks was furious  with the cruel mayor. “I’ll find him and save him anyway, without the wand!” she yelled at him, “And there’s nothing you can do to stop me, you big brute.” With those last words, she turned and ran into the woods, her temper flaring.

“I’ll find you, Chuckles,” she promised, as she stomped through the woods, on her way to Tower Tall, where she was sure she would find her monkey. It was an old, old building, with no door, just a window at the very top. She wasn’t sure how she’d get Mr Chuckles back, but she didn’t really think about that as she set off on her trip.

But meanwhile, a hungry tiger was following Sillilocks. A nice plump little girl should do for dinner... he thought to himself.  But I have to trap her first...
He quickened his pace and soon he was beside her.

“Hello,” he growled.

Sillilocks jumped, his growl having given her a fright. “Oh, hi there. I didn’t notice you, you were so silent.” she said, her voice quivering a little.

The tiger smiled and all his sharp teeth showed. “Where are you going?”

“I’m off to rescue my friend, Mr Chuckles. He’s a monkey – and a mean old man locked him up in the tower I’m heading to.” she replied, as confidently as she could.

The tiger stopped in his tracks. A monkey wouldn’t be bad for desert... he thought as he licked his lips. How fortunate to have come across this little girl.

“Well, nice to chat, but I have to go, I’m afraid. Goodbye,” said the tiger as he turned and raced into the trees, until he was out of sight.

“Bye,” Sillilocks called after him, as well as adding “Quite a rude tiger for leaving so soon,” under her breath.

But the tiger didn’t hear any of her words, because he was hatching a brilliant plan. Yes, it will work perfectly... he smiled to himself. I’m sure you want to know his brilliant plan, so I shall tell you.

                                                           TIGER’S BRILLIANT PLAN

                                   Step 1: Get to the monkey before the little girl does. Take the secret shortcut.

                                   Step 2: Tie up the monkey. Hide him, preferably in a closet or under a bed.

                                    Step 3: Dress up as monkey – make sure the tail is not forgotten.

                                    Step 4: Wait for the little girl to arrive.

                                    Step 5: Tie up the girl, tightly so she can’t escape.

                                    Step 6: Add sprinkles (a certain favourite!) to the monkey. (can’t wait till desert!)

                                    Step 7: Fill a pot with boiling water – supper won’t taste good raw.

                                    Step 8: Cook. Remember to add some spices if bland.

                                    Step 9: Set the table. Use best cutlery inherited from mother.

                                    Step 10: Have a delicious supper, but save space for the pudding.

So there you have it, the ten steps of the tiger’s brilliant plan.

Now, back to little Sillilocks; she was walking through the woods, singing to herself, when she heard a voice.

“I built the best house!” said a squeaky voice, quite boastfully.

“Ha! That thing? It’s made out of smelly old hay. I definitely built the best house!” said a second voice, almost identical to the first.

 “Don’t be silly, you two – it is obvious that my house better than both of yours! It’s made out of the strongest brick ever,” squeaked a third.

Sillilocks was curious now, so she walked a little father into the woods, and peered behind a tree. There was a big, flat opening and three houses stood in a row, next to each other. One was made out of hay, one out of wood and the third one out of brick and cement. In front of each one, a pig stood.  Sillilocks took another step and her foot landed on a twig that snapped, alerting the three pigs. They all jumped and shrieked. But Sillilocks stood perfectly still, so that she didn’t scare them.

“What is it?” said the pig standing in front the hay house.

“It? It is not an ‘it’ – it’s a bird. Can’t you see it has long legs, like a flamingo?” replied the one standing in front of the brick house.

“I don’t know about that, Bernie. It’s scary. Flamingos aren’t scary,” quivered the pig in front of the wood house.

This conversation seemed so funny to Sillilocks, and she began to giggle. She giggled uncontrollably, and eventually the giggles turned into full blown laughter.

“What’s so funny?” the pig that first spoke up asked.

“You guys are so silly. But I like silly,” Sillilocks smiled at them. “And I’m not a bird. Just a little girl.”

“Oh,” said the pigs in unison.  “What’s your name, then?”

“My name is Sillilocks. What are your names?” Sillilocks replied.

“I’m Bernhard,” said the pig that stood by the brick house.

“I’m Castor,” said the pig that stood by the hay house.

“And I am Jimmy!” squealed the pig that stood by the wooden house.

“It’s very nice to meet you all,” Sillilocks said politely.

Bernhard piped up, “Do have some tea with us, Sillilocks. In my house,”

“No, in my house,” Castor argued.

“But mine is so nice and cosy!” exclaimed Jimmy, and before Sillilocks could say ‘I’d be delighted’, the three little pigs were deep in argument again. So she silently slipped away, into the woods, on her way once again.

Meanwhile...The tiger’s brilliant plan was working, for he was far ahead of Sillilocks. Running through the woods, he kept reminding himself he’d have some good food soon.

But, back to Sillilocks. After the encounter with the three little pigs, she was trudging along, her stomach rumbling. She began to wish she had had tea with Bernhard, Castor and Jimmy after all.

“Oh, how I wish I had something to eat!” just as these words escaped her lips, she stumbled and tripped, falling flat on her face.

For a while, she just lay there. Then she slowly began to get up, telling herself that she had to keep going, for Mr Chuckles’ sake. But as she lifted her face, she realized she was about three steps away from a little cottage. And through the window, she saw three bowls of...porridge!
Sillilocks gave a longing sigh, and then she realized – no one was home! Surely it would be alright if she ate just one bowl? Quickly she picked the rest of her body off the ground and ran towards the cottage. She opened the door that was unlocked. Inside the smell of good food was strong. She walked to the windowsill where the porridge sat and grabbed the biggest bowl in her hands. Using a spoon that lay next to the other bowls, she took a big mouthful.
But something was wrong. The porridge was too HOT! Sillilocks put the bowl down fast, choking a bit, and picked up the second. She put a spoon of it in her mouth, not so big as last time, and began to chew. But something was wrong with this porridge, too!
It was too COLD! She once again set the bowl back down and picked up the third one, the smallest. As soon as she tried this one, she realized it was just right. Sillilocks began to gobble it down as fast as she could.
But then, she heard a growling voice behind her let out a big roar. She turned to see a massive daddy bear, a middling mommy bear and a weeping baby bear. Sillilocks was so scared!

“She ate all my porridge, daddy!” squealed the baby bear.

The daddy bear gave another roar and looked at Sillilocks angrily. “I’m so sorry,” she managed to utter. “I’m so very sorry!” and after apologizing, she sped out of the cottage as fast as she could, and into the woods again.

After running as far away as she felt she possibly could, she stopped to rest and realized she was trembling. But as she sat down against a tree, she began to recover.

“ I must get on with my journey,” Sillilocks said to herself and then began to trudge on once more, and then, slowly, she began run on, as fast as she could, because she had a bad feeling, and she was sure there was a reason why.

Meanwhile...the tiger had reached the tower.

“How am I to get up?” he growled furiously.

Mr Chuckles, who was high up in the tower, was weeping.

“Oh, I wish someone would save me!” he cried. But then, suddenly, he heard a big bam!  Chuckles peered out the window of the tower.

Down, down, down there he saw a tiger, whacking the tower over and over again with a hollow log that made a lot of noise. Mr Chuckles began to get very excited.

“Are you here to help me?” he called down to the tiger, who stopped his banging and looked up.

Now, the tiger was clever. So he didn’t tell Chuckles that he was there to eat him, instead, he yelled back to him: “Yes! Do you have any idea how I can get you down?”

Mr Chuckles nodded. “I own some magic beans!” he yelled, so that the wolf could hear him, “And I always keep them with me.”

“So what?” snarled the tiger, his stomach complaining and making him in a terrible mood.

The monkey held out the beans that were glowing in his hand. “If you can catch them, and plant them, then a vine will grow up, up into the clouds! That way you can climb up and get me,” pointed out Chuckles. “I couldn’t use them to get myself down, because they have to be buried deep!”

“OK,” shouted the tiger, “Throw them down, I’ll catch, don’t worry!”

So, Mr Chuckles threw the beans down and the tiger caught them. No sooner had the tiger retrieved the beans, he began to dig a deep, deep hole. Then, dropping the beans and covering them up, he stepped back. A stalk appeared out of the ground, suddenly. But it was tiny.

“I can’t climb that!” yelled the tiger.

“Just wait,” replied Mr Chuckles.

And then it happened. The vine burst up, speeding higher, and higher – past Chuckles and into the clouds.

“Magic beans. Huh. I never knew they existed,” the tiger said to himself as he began to climb.

But just then, Sillilocks came running towards the tower. When she saw the vine and the tiger climbing it, she realized what he was up to and exclaimed, “Oh, no you don’t!” and began to climb the gigantic plant herself. The tiger growled and tried to climb faster, and we all know that tigers are good at climbing. But Sillilocks was small, and faster. She overtook the tiger soon, and then they both heard a crack. It was the bean plant, breaking because the tiger had tried to climb using his sharp teeth and he had sunk them into the stalk, a bit too deep...he had almost bitten it in half – it was going to fall! Sillilocks took this in, and starting to scramble up even faster.

“I’m coming for you, Chuckles!” she cried.

“I thought the tiger was doing that,” Mr Chuckles said.

“He’s lying! He’s not here to help you!” replied Sillilocks. She was climbing faster and faster, and was close to reaching Chuckles.

The tiger sighed dramatically, as he, too, scrambled as quickly as he could. “I guess the truth is out. But I’ve trapped you guys now and I’ll get what I want soon!”

“Not if I get there first,” said Sillilocks, and she went on more determined than ever.

Finally, she reached her monkey.

“Chuckles, hop onto my shoulder!” she ordered.

“Humph. What if we get home and you give me away again?” Mr Chuckles asked, clearly hurt, as he turned his back to her.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I was wrong to ever give you to Mr Bough.  I will NEVER do it again! You are way better than that old wand, even if it had granted wishes – and I want you back, badly! Please!” she cried.

Mr Chuckles turned and smiled. “Alright. Forgiven,” he said.

Sillilocks looked down. The tiger was gaining on them. “Good, now hop on my shoulder, we have to go, fast!”

Chuckles jumped onto her shoulder and Sillilocks grabbed a giant leaf, then she jumped, holding onto it tight. They began to float down, and it was very peaceful, actually. Past the mean tiger (Mr Chuckles stuck his tongue out) who fell down, down onto a bunch of thorns as the bean plant split in half and fell. (The tiger never bothered anyone else again; instead he became a vegetarian. He had learnt his lesson) Sillilocks suddenly let go of the leaf and grabbed onto a branch of the stalk.

“What are you DOING?!” Mr Chuckles shouted.

“Wait and SEE!” Sillilocks shouted back.

The gigantic bean plant was falling fast, and before it fell, Sillilocks snatched another huge leaf and the air caught it and they soared across the woods.

“We would just float right down, if I hadn’t of done that,” Sillilocks explained.

“I know,” Mr Chuckles lied,  pretending to look thoughtful.

On the way back, they passed the bears, who roared up at them as they flew away. Then they passed the three pigs, who stopped their squabbling to look in up in awe and wave.

“We’re off to home,” whispered Sillilocks as they sailed through the air in the golden sunshine. It was close to setting by now. “I’m really sorry.”

Mr Chuckles said nothing, but gave a satisfied sigh and hugged Sillilocks. She laughed and told him to stop because she might lose her grip on the leaf, because it was ticklish, and then where would they be?

“I learned a good lesson,” said Sillilocks after a while. “Never trade the ones you love for something else, no matter how desirable that something else is. When we get home, Chuckles – we can have a picnic to celebrate- and I’m sure mother will let me keep you after all. By the way, I’ve never see a plant that big, and why didn’t you just climb down yourself?”

“Uh...” Chuckles began. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of magic beans...”

Well, Mr. Chuckles did get to stay. And as for the Mayor, after the people of the village heard what he did, they banned him and chose a different man to be Mayor. (Who, by the way, happened to be a real Mr. Bough, a good Mr. Bough)

And they lived happily, or mischievously, ever after.

THE END